Make me forget.

The pounding of the waves arching and crashing into the beach was her only answer. Ariadne clutched the tunic tighter around herself as the howling wind pushed her toward the sea. Perhaps the engulfing water would erase the memories of her foolishness.

I want to forget.

"Do you? Truly?"

She swiveled her head and turned toward the voice, which was as dulcet as honeyed nectar. The sapphire linen, damp and clinging, tangled around her ankles, robbing her of balance, but all her senses focused on the stranger.

Hair the color of the richest loam whipped in wild abandon around his perfectly chiseled face. The heat from his body beckoned her, and she gripped his arms, felt the corded strength of lean muscles. Despite the wind heavy with brine, he smelled like woods and vines, with a sweet tang of ripe grapes before harvest. Finally she registered a powerful hand supporting her back, preventing her from collapsing into the water and sand in an undignified heap.

He smiled, just a slight curve of his full lips. They looked so soft in such an unyielding face. "I can bring an end to care and worry. Make you forget." The corners of his eyes crinkled, a wicked temptation dancing in their depths. "Isn't that what you long for?"

The power radiating from him said he could give her what she'd been praying for. Ariadne swallowed, trying to keep a ready word of assent from rising. Who was this man anyway?

Dionysus.

The name brushed over her mind, settled like a silken sheet. His mouth traced her jaw, then stopped near her ear. "Say yes, Adriane, and I'll free you from all your burdens."